My problems started in 1993. As I was typing I was fondled by a
female administrator at the University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine Division of Emergency Medicine. We were the only two people
in the office at the time. It was about 4 P.M. and the doctors had
already left for the day. The computer that I was given to use did
not have print envelopes or labels and I would type them on an
electronic typewriter that was on one of the desks that was used by a
doctor. Barbara stood behind, ran her fingers through my hair, and
began to run her hands down the front of my chest. I went into
shock. I don't know if I went into shock because of the fondling
itself, or if it was because Barbara was not one to wash her hands
after using the bathroom. To this day, it still turns my stomach.
From October 10, 1994 to April 1996, I got paid to twiddle my thumbs
in the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of
Pittsbugh. The job requirement was hands-on word processing
experience. After being hired, I was not permitted to use word
processing because the boss, Diana, did not understand it. I was not
permitted to go to the bathroom or to lunch unless one the
secretaries would relieve me; they were too busy on cigarette breaks,
reading the morning paper, cleaning the break room, etc.
When I was
menstrating, I had to use three of the thickest, longest sanitary
napkins and still had blood running down my leg. Thinking that I
might have an infection, I called my gynecologist. He said, "It
sounds like stress, but let me examine you and rule out everything
else first before we say it is stress. After being examined, he
didn't find anything wrong but he would not put in writing that the
problem was caused by stress. I had requested a transfer but Diana
held me back because she only permits a transfer if the transfer is a
promotion; many of the jobs that I had applied for would have been
lateral or demotion. One of the jobs that I had applied for was in
Marketing. Margie interviewed me for the position and explained the
transfer process. We were to sign the interview completion sheet,
she was to give it the Assistant Dean to forward to the Office of
Human Resources and I would get a letter proving that the process was
followed. I received a letter from Human Resources stating thanking
me for the interview and that the position has been filled.
After resigning, I applied for unemployment. The assistant dean was
at the hearing. Under oath, she denied any knowledge of my transfer
request. I was denied unemployment. I had proof that Ronda lied,
but that didn't matter. When I left a message on the voice mail of
(Barbara) the secretary to the Staff Association Council President
(he gets paid to help employees) because she had once worked in the
KGSB and knew what Diana was like and told me if I needed someone to
talk to that I could trust her. Two days after I left the message on
her voice mail, the university had me involuntarily committed to a
mental institution. The mental institution had the nerve to send me
the bills.
From 11/01/2000 to 8/18/02, I was employed at Sears, Roebuck and
Company. This is the same company that I had worked for in the 60s
before quitting to be a stay-at-home mom. Since I enjoyed it in the
60s and never had any problems, I thought this would be the right
place to retire from and hoped to work for 10 years. The manager,
Judi, asked if I would stay late one day and talk to the second shift
data entry associates. The following day, I spoke to my immediate
supervisor (Barbara) about it to find out when would be the best
time. I told her that Mondays and Tuesdays were my evening classes;
she told me one the second shift crew was off on Fridays. That left
only Wednesday or Thursday. When she decided the day that would be
best, I asked her if I should punch in later, since I would be
staying later and she had been told to cut hours. She and I decided
on 10:30 or 11:00. Because I had gotten to work early, I punched in
at 10:10. Judi accused me of having a 2-hour late occurrence. When
I told her what happened, she told me that she never asked me to stay
late and that Barbara also said that I had a 2-hour late occurrence.
If that wasn't bad enough, Yvonne (Human Resource Specialist) said
that I had car trouble on that day. When I said that I have not had
any car problems until my second last class, she changed her story
and said that I had bus problems. When I told her that I have not
ridden a bus in over a year, she didn't know what to say. I got my
things together and quit on the spot.
